Tag Archives: Vivek

‘Brindhaavanam’ directed by Radha Mohan is the story of Kannan – a youngster who is deaf and dumb. The film is a feel good drama, for which the director is very well known for. As like the other films of Radhamohan, there is a lot of importance for relationships and emotions in ‘Brindhaavanam’ too.

Radhamohan’s trademark style of humour and sentiments works at most scenes, except for the overdose here and there. The casting has been a very big plus point. Arulnidhi has tried to justify his presence in the role as much as he can; he fits in perfectly as the innocent and ever-smiling Kannan. Tanya who was seen very much underutilized in her debut film ‘Bale Vellaiyathevaa’ has got ample scope to perform in this film, which she has used very efficiently – the interval scene and some scenes in the second half does speak of her potential. Comedian Vivek who appears as himself in the film comes in a very pleasant and lively role in the film, which has been one of the biggest USP. Except for some silly one-liners like ‘Vaazhkai oru vaazhakkaai madhiri’ or ‘Ippodhan en manasu pal set kazhattina paati madihri, free ah irukku’, Vivek makes the audience laugh in a number of scenes. This will be remembered as one of his best roles in his career, and most of the scenes in the first half are like a dedication to him since Arulnithi comes as an ardent fan of Comedian Vivek in the film. M.S.Bhaskar is seen delivering a brilliant performance once again.

The first half of ‘Brindhaavanam’ is beautiful with a handful of heart-warming moments, whereas the second half has an intense flashback after which the film gets middling for a while. The pre-climax and the tediously protracted ending do test our patience to a large extent. The film does have some striking dialogues such as ‘Naama vaazhkkaiyila sandhikkura sila per, Naama vaazhkkaiyila izhandha sila perai gnaabagapaduthuvaanga’ and the conversation between M.S.Bhaskar and Tanya at the church in second half. Radhamohan’s signature style humours like ‘Enga veettula 5 per 5 phone vechirukkom… Apdiyum lonely ah dhan irukkom’ and ‘Pesurathukku phone kuduthaa, Vilaiyaada Candy Crush ketkuriyaa?’ are there in every scene.

Vishal Chandrasekhar’s background score and Vivekanand’s cinematography has been an uplifting feature in the movie. The second song ‘Yaar Nee Yaaradaa’ was good, whereas the other two songs were absolutely needless. The other minuses in ‘Brindhaavanam’ are the over-dramatic characterization and acting of characters like Thalaivaasal Vijay and Subbu Panchu (despite the fact that the scene between Subbu and his daughter was emotional), the film moving episodic at a point of time and the overdone melodrama and unfunny jokes in few scenes (especially towards climax).

‘Brindhaavanam’ might not be as great as Radhamohan’s ‘Mozhi’ or ‘Abhiyum Naanum’, but a pretty decent drama that is worth a watch!

After the hat-trick success of ‘Madras’, ‘Komban’ & ‘Thozha’, Actor Karthi has joined hands with Director Gokul for ‘Kaashmora’ – an entertainer that is a blend of ‘Horror’ & ‘Dark Fantasy’ genres. As seen in the trailer, ‘Kaashmora’ is not a historical film or a period film (it is just a small flashback); in contrast, it is a regular masala entertainer which could please the general audience.

The biggest plus point of the film is its hero Karthi who has given his best in the dual roles as Kaashmora and Raj Nayak, and has carried the whole film in his shoulders. His hilarious performance in the pre-interval scene where he gets stuck inside the palace and his acting as the pitiless Raj Nayak in the flashback episode are worth-mentioning! Other than the boring initial 15 minutes and the poorly placed songs that comes from nowhere, the first half is a clean entertainer with a lot of funny moments. Whereas the second half is a big let-down with repetitive scenes, slow paced and uninteresting narration. The whole second half happens inside the palace with a number of yawning moments. The sluggish and dragging 80 minutes in the second half does test the audience’s patient to a great extent; especially, the post-interval scenes and climax portion – the flashback is the saviour of the second half.

Director Gokul has scored very well in his forte – comedy, starting from the introduction of Kaashmora’s family and the idea of ‘milk and egg’, the money-making techniques are told in an enjoyable way. Intentionally or unintentionally, Karthi’s character does remind ‘Rocket Raja’, the screenplay of first half reminds Surya’s ‘Mass’ a lot and the core plot of the film and the flashback has resemblances of ‘Arundhathi’ and ’Magadheera’.

Except the last song in the flashback, all other songs in Santhosh Narayanan’s music are below average (disappointingly, a poor album from SaNa); even the background score was not so impressive. The cinematography, art direction and costume department have done a fantastic job in enhancing the film’s richness. The film has a lot of Computer Graphics involved – the director’s imagination and visuals are too good, the VFX was good in few scenes but looked too hurried at many sequences (including the much hyped war sequences).

On the whole, ‘Kaashmora’ is a worthy commercial film that could satisfy you, if you can bear the draggy second half.

‘MANITHAN’ directed by ‘ENDRENDRUM PUNNAGAI’ fame Ahamed is the official remake of the 2013 release Bollywood film ‘JOLLY LLB’, which was successful both critically and commercially (the film has won 2 national awards too). The trailer and songs of ‘MANITHAN’ were promising. So, how good is the film? Read on, to know!

First things first. Director Ahamed has been honest to the original in most places, without making any major changes or modifications in the script. There are few minor changes here and there, with some additional commercial stuffs and an extended romance episode. Ahamed has tried to give a fair remake that has some more commercial ingredients and rich colours & making without spoiling the core content, in which he has succeeded in most parts.

In a satire film that speaks about the loop-holes and the feebleness of the Indian Judiciary System & the Law, for a film that happens mostly within a courtroom, the performances & the dialogues need to be very much contributive and the emotions needs to be handled very well. The direction team has taken considerable efforts to make it possible, that’s where MANITHAN wins! There are minor changes in the script on dramatizing the emotions and backing the characters with reasons (say the reason why Sakthi comes to Chennai, the montage sequences in the second song where people and emotions around Court are depicted – An accused in a Police van seeing his child from window, the scene where Sakthi and his fiancée are attacked).

The first half 30 minutes of MANITHAN is literally boring, with an uninteresting romance episode (this portion was handled much well in the original, where it was not a minus) and humour that is not so funny (with Power Star and other characters); thankfully, this frivolity goes off once the film gets into the plot. Once Sakthi files a PIL, the film settles in good pace and things get engrossing towards the interval. The second half is completely enjoyable except for one or two boredom moments, with the impressive climax that hits the bull’s eye.

Coming to performance, Udhayanithi Stalin has done a very good job in the role of an innocent and struggling advocate. His performance is reasonably convincing, which he has played very subtly. MANITHAN could be a very significant film in Udhay’s career, which might fetch him some more good scripts like this and might increase his fan base to an extent. Wish he does such script oriented entertainers in future too! The show-stealers of MANITHAN are none other than the veteran actors Prakash Raj and Radha Ravi. Both of them have done an adorable job, elevating the film’s mood to a different level, setting fire on screen in those crucial scenes with an extraordinary performance (with great competition between themselves). Prakash Raj was seamless in his part, being spectacular in every other scene. It is not really an easy job to repeat the magic of an actor like Boman Irani; Prakash Raj has done it very pleasingly once again, after VASOOL RAJA MBBS. Radha Ravi has an even tougher job to do, since Saurabh Sukhla has won a national award for this role delivering an unmatched performance; Radha Ravi has nailed it in his own style giving no space for comparison. Aishwarya Rajesh and Vivek does their part decently. Background score by Santhosh Narayanan was a very big plus point, with 2 good songs. Cinematography by Madhie and Editing by Manikanda Balaji were commendably good.

On the flip side, the length has been an issue (with the extended scenes – 25 minutes longer than the original version). Hansika Motwani is the biggest show-spoiler of MANITHAN. She has been offered a meaty role which she has not utilized properly. It is one of her worst ever performances with over-acting, very bad lip sync and her style of routine and template reactions. She spoiled the feel and mood of many pivotal scenes, which made her character itself totally unbearable. So, how long are we going to cast Hansika or any such heroines for the role of a Pollachi town girl (who cannot even remember their lines)?

Overall, MANITHAN might not be as perfect as JOLLY LLB, but still a very decent remake! There are some boredom moments and few other minuses. But, this film will change your perspective on the roadside dwellers who do not have an address; once you leave out of the cinema hall and go home, you would have started noticing how many such people are out there. That is the success of this remake.

Rating: 3.25/5

Verdict: Not as perfect as the original, but still a pretty decent remake! A recommendable entertainer with adequate good moments.

After her directorial debut ‘3’ which did not do well in the box office, Aishwaryaa R Dhanush announced her next project VAI RAJA VAI in the year 2013. Initially, director Aishwarya’s choice for the lead actor was Atharvaa, but due to schedule conflicts he was unable to work on the project, therefore, Gautham Karthik was signed to play the male lead. Priya Anand was confirmed as the female lead opposite Gautham and Velraj was confirmed as cinematographer for the film. Director Vasanth was cast as Gautham’s father to make his acting debut, while choreographer Gayathri Raguram was signed to play Gautham’s sister, making her return as an actress after a ten-year hiatus. Taapsee Pannu and Daniel Balaji were chosen to play a pivotal role in the film. In November 2014, Dhanush also shot a for a cameo role, reprising his role ‘Kokki Kumar’ he played in the film PUDHUPETTAI. S.J.Suryah has also done a cameo role in the film. The film’s audio was released in December 2014; the satellite rights have been sold to SUN TV. Has Aishwarya Dhanush managed to deliver the first HIT film for herself and Gautham Karthik? Read on, to know!

STORY:
Karthik (Gautham Karthik) is a youngster leading a simple and happy life with his family and girlfriend Priya (Priya Anand). He has a super power from his birth, which he hides from everyone and does not use to avoid others treating him as abnormal. His colleague Panda (Vivek) knows about his power and wants to make money out of it, which lands Karthik in a series of problems. What happens then forms the crux of the story.

As rumoured before the film release, VAI RAJA VAI has its one line inspired from the American film ‘21’. With changes suiting Tamil cinema, Aishwaryaa R Dhanush has come up with a simple and clean entertainer. Except few flaws, sluggish moments and misplaced songs, the film is engaging thoroughly.
The film starts with the sudden placement of ‘Move Your Body’ song in the title credits which was neither interesting visually or adding any value to the film. The next 30 minutes was also sluggish with scenes not taking the movie forward and 2 other misplaced songs. The film gears up from the interval block and gets more interesting in the mid of second half.

Yuvan’s BGM and Velraj’s cinematography has been the biggest assets of the film. Aishwaryaa’s direction has been impressive; some interesting detailings all through the film were good (such as reprising the same actors who used to be Kokki Kumar’s men in PUTHUPETTAI). Dialogues were so simple and good in every scene, like ‘Ithu nee mootai thookki sambaadhicha panam illa, Sambaadhichu mootaiyaa thookkittu vandha panam’.

Coming to performance, Gautham Karthik – the actor in lead role has given an average performance unlike his first film KADAL where he was much more charming and impressive; his acting was good only in the climax portion. All other actors including Priya Anand and Tapsee Pannu have done their part decently. The show-stealer of the film is Daniel Balaji, who is seen in a good role after years in which he has scored high effortlessly. Director Vasanth’s debut as actor was pretty good, whereas Gayathri Raghuram’s acting looked a bit artificial. Vivek’s comedy portions are too good (even better than #VIP) and his combination with Sathish has worked out very well. And, we have a ‘weightu’ cameo by Kokki Kumaru which has a thundering applause in the theater.

Technically, the film is strong. Yuvan’s background score has been the biggest strength of the film; he has given an outstanding BGM after so many films, without which the film would have been so weak. Velraj’s cinematography and rich visuals adds high value to the film. VAI RAJA VAI is good in editing, art direction and other technical departments too. Kudos to the director and team work which has made sure that the film’s running length of 118 minutes engaging!